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Thursday, November 20, 2014

I love Thanksgiving! I think it's having everyone over, the tradition and all the wonderful food. Plus I LOVE pecan pie and Thanksgiving is about the only time I have it. I have to confess that I love our pecan pie way more than any other I've ever had. I don't know if it's the recipe we start with or if it's the secret ingredient: a little bit of Griffin's Pancake Syrup. Oops! So it's not so secret now! I don't know why, but it makes a huge difference!

My friend, Jean, and I were talking about a treat for kids at Thanksgiving. She had an idea to fill some candy tubes with Tootsie Rolls and needed a turkey for the decoration. I remembered this so cute turkey! It's from Springhill Graphics. I have some tubes left over from Halloween, but no Tootsie Rolls. I used caramels instead. Won't these look cute on a kids' table?

I printed the turkey and sentiment on 80 lb. paper. Cut out the turkey (or use the print and cut feature on an electronic cutter) and leave a little blank space on each end of the words.

Cut the right end of the sentiment into a flag. Use a bone folder or pencil to curve both ends of the sentiment. That way it will be super easy to wrap around the tube. Glue dots work great with the candy tube.

Use glue dots to adhere the turkey in place first. I think the "Gobble Gobble Gobble" wrapped around the tube is kind of fun! Let the sentiment wrap around the tube. Start with the left end of the sentiment - add a glue dot on the edge and press it to the candy tube. Add one more glue dot in the back and a third on the front under the start of the last "gobble." You might have to make candy tubes for the adults, too! Or maybe, they won't mind if they get pecan pie...

Friday, November 14, 2014

My daughter and I have talked often over the years about being unique and being authentic. I've always wanted Lauren to be comfortable just being her. Sometimes it's hard in this world where we are pressured to conform.

Lauren and I are hard on ourselves. As I've gotten older, I have an easier time letting the perfect go. I still have to remind myself sometimes that "as good as I can do it" is perfectly fine! That's one of the reasons I LOVE this sentiment.

And look at this darling Flamingo! Cute, right? The stamps and dies are from Reverse Confetti.I love string tie envelopes, but sometimes I just don't want to set eyelets. So I've got an alternative way to do the ties that I pretty much use all the time.

I use circles and pop dots. Just cut four circles (larger than your pop dot). The twine will be glued under only one of the dots. Don't cut the twine yet!

I like the twine to start on the top dot. It's important that the twine be pointing down toward where it will wrap. Glue the pop dots on top of the circles.

Finish off with the other two pop dots. I put a little dot of glue on the top and bottom of the pop dot - just to give a little more stick-to-it-ness. Wrap the twine around the pop dots and when you know for sure how much you need, then you can cut the twine. That way you ensure that you always have enough!I promise the twine doesn't stick to the pop dots - or at least it hasn't so far! It works really well. Here are the measurements and instructions for this size envelope:

Cut your paper to 6 1/4 x 7 3/8". I printed my paper double sided on 80lb paper. This pretty paper is from Grepic and is included in a set called Cupcakes. Cut off the tabs you've created with the 3/4" scores above and below the horizontal score lines. You will have tabs on just the middle section.Then as you can see one picture up, I used a decorative edge die on the top portion. Fold up the bottom and adhere to the tabs.

So what do you think about uniqueness? Wouldn't it be lovely if we could all live with this philosophy?

Friday, November 7, 2014

Sometimes you just need a quick little pocket to pop in a few goodies. Right? This gusseted pocket is perfect! And you can whip it up in about 6 minutes. (Okay, the tag might take a little longer, but I'm talking about the pocket!)

This perfect little pocket is easy! I started by printing a polka dot paper in a lovely color onto 28 lb. copy paper. It's a little heavier and slicker than normal copy paper and I love it for little bags and pockets. The digital paper is from Grepic and is part of a polka dot paper set that comes in lovely colors. Go take a look - you'll love how pretty they are!

Gusset will be on the back layer. Cut off 1 1/2" on each side down to the 4 1/4" score.

If you want to do some fancy stuff, do it now! I die cut a fancy edge on the top and cut a window in the front. The border die is from Papertrey Ink and the scallop die is from Reverse Confetti.Fold the gussets:

No, it's not your imagination - that is different paper. This is a photo from my gusseted bag post. The gussets are folded exactly the same way.

I glued in a piece of vellum to cover the window, folded the pocket on the 4 1/4" score and glued the front to the gussets. Using the back as a guide, I folded the top over the back.

Popped in some chocolates next and clipped on a cute tag. Now I'm thinking about different colors...

It's almost time for Visions of Sugarplums!

Can you believe this is the 4th Annual Visions of Sugarplums? Join us for Christmas ideas, freebies, recipes and giveaways all five days. Mark your calendar and I'll see you here!

Monday, November 3, 2014

Hi, there! Hope you had a fun Halloween! It was unusually quiet around our neighborhood this year. Did you have a lot of trick or treaters?Keren, from Free Pretty Things for You and I are bringing you the cutest Mama (or maybe, it's Dad) and baby owl image today!

The owls look rather fall-ish, so I decided a thankful card would be a great match. I printed them on a linen finish and sewed the scallop circle and ribbon right to the card.

The owls are so darn cute, I couldn't stop at just a card. I made a tag for an orange gingham bag, too.

Every time I look at these sweet owls, I just smile! I had picked up these gingham bags quite some time ago and had practically forgotten that I had them. Luckily, I came across them while I was looking for something else. Do you ever do that or am I the extremely disorganized one? (These projects were Choux Box Kits. I have a couple of orange gingham bags left, so if you're interested in a Choux Box Kit let me know and I'll send you the details.)

As always, Keren and I offer cute images for free! Click HERE for a download of these cutie owls in a 2" and 3.5" circles. To get a large download, visit Free Pretty Things for You.So glad you stopped by. Have a lovely week!